


hot cocoa on a cold winter day

by vaahtokarkki



Series: Requests etc [3]
Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 22:04:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18433016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vaahtokarkki/pseuds/vaahtokarkki
Summary: Hajime and Subaru enjoy a small winter date.





	hot cocoa on a cold winter day

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CharaRen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharaRen/gifts).



> this is a charity commission (no monetary profit for myself) for ren, who asked for subahaji winter fluff with daikichi! it may not be winter anymore, but I hope this warms your heart regardless. enjoy!! <3

It’s turning out to be a cold, crisp winter day, and Hajime is glad he remembered his gloves.

Subaru is late, or maybe Hajime is early? Nervous, he decides against checking the time; it would be unlikely to calm him.

Still, knowing Subaru, Hajime has little to worry about. He’ll probably appear any moment, in a manner that startles Hajime, no matter how much he might be expecting --

“Shinonon!”

“A-ah!” Hajime jumps as a weight latches itself to his back.

Just like that. Hajime _knows_ it’s Subaru whose arms wrap around him from behind, whose face presses against his hair, but his heart still won’t stop its wild beating.

“Akehoshi… senpai”, Hajime greets, doing his best to avoid a nervous stutter. “M-maybe we should… before people start staring…?”

To Hajime’s relief, Subaru lets go of him, but the blinding smile on his face does nothing to calm Hajime’s poor heart down.

“Let’s go, then! You lead the way, okay?”

“Right”, Hajime nods. “There’s a lot of people out today, so let’s be careful to not lose each other.”

“If you’re worried about getting lost, we could always hold hands~” Subaru’s voice is playful as he extends a hand. Hajime can feel his cheeks flush at the suggestion, his eyes darting to the hand.

“Um, I think I’ll be… wait”, Hajime takes another look at Subaru’s hand. Something is strange… “...Akehoshi-senpai, where are your gloves?”

“I… forgot?” Subaru smiles sheepishly.

Now, Hajime wants to take that hand still held out for him, to keep Subaru’s hands warm, but -- no, he doesn’t have the courage to.

“You should be more careful, it’s winter”, Hajime scolds, instead.

In the end, Subaru pulls his hand back.

 

* * *

 

Neither suggests hand-holding again as they walk through the crowded streets. They’re window shopping as much as they’re hunting for bargains, and both point out cute things on the windows of stores they wouldn’t enter.

When Subaru notices a toy store, Hajime wants to go in thinking he might find something for his siblings, but it seems Subaru has other ideas.

“Here, here, look what I found”, Subaru gestures Hajime to join him at a display full of discounted plushies. The toy Subaru is holding is a pale blue colour, and it takes Hajime a moment to realise what animal it is.

“A bunny?” he asks, confused. “Is there someone you know who would like that?”

“Of course there is”, Subaru’s eyes twinkle. “Cute, huh? Should I buy it?”

“If you know that person would like your gift, then yes!” Hajime nods enthusiastically.

“Okay, then I will”, Subaru grins. “Maybe they even do gift wrapping here.”

Subaru leaves to the counter to buy the bunny, and Hajime digs through the rest of the plushies. Maybe he’ll find something one of his siblings would like…?

What he finds, instead, is a shiba inu with an almost orange fur. It reminds him of -- of _Subaru,_ he realises.

They had decided to not exchange gifts for Christmas, but this… it’s too perfect to pass up, isn’t it? He remembers there’s another counter at the other side of the store, so if he’s fast…

Clutching the plushie to his chest, Hajime makes his way to the other counter.

They _do_ offer gift wrapping, which makes the gift easier to hide. If Subaru asks, Hajime can just tell him he got something for someone, just like Subaru did. It won’t be lying, if Subaru assumes that it’s for someone else.

Hajime does look around some more while waiting for Subaru to find him, but nothing else catches his eye.

“Shinonon”, calls Subaru’s familiar voice from behind him. “I was looking for you.”

“Apologies, Akehoshi-senpai”, Hajime bows after turning around. “I wanted to look around more.”

“Ahaha, no worries! Are you all ready now?”

“Yes!” Hajime nods. “We can leave.”

 

* * *

 

As they’re walking down the street, Hajime spots something from the corner of his eye. A small coffee shop, or rather --

“Oh, look, Akehoshi-senpai”, Hajime gasps. “They specialise in cocoa.”

“Tea was your favourite, right?”

“Yes, but nothing beats a hot cup of cocoa on a winter day. The rich flavour, filling you with warmth…” Hajime sighs deeply.

“Do you want to go for a cup?” Subaru suggests.

“Oh, I decided to not spend money on myself today”, Hajime shakes his head. “Even though it would be nice.”

“Hm~m. Then it’s fine if I spend money on you, right?”

“What?” Hajime blinks. “You mean…?”

“Yes!” Subaru beams. “I’ll treat you, and don’t you worry about it!”

“Ah, I couldn’t”, Hajime protests, shaking his head more fervently than before.

“It’s a gift”, Subaru insists. “Please?”

Hajime thinks of the plushie in his bag. He has a gift for Subaru, too, and he’s asking so earnestly… it would be rude to refuse, wouldn’t it?

“I… Akehoshi-senpai, you’re too kind”, Hajime makes a deep bow.

“There’s no need for that. Come on, Shinonon, let’s check it out!”

Subaru takes Hajime’s hand to drag him through the door.

Hajime decidedly ignores every reaction the action causes, from his shaking hands to his thundering heart. Once they’re inside the cafe, Subaru looks around.

“Okay, tell me what you want and find a place to sit.”

“There’s so many kinds”, Hajime gasps. “Maybe… the one made with white chocolate?”

“Ohh, that one looks sweet~” Subaru nods. “It suits you, then.”

“Um”, says Hajime, at the lack of better words.

“I’ll be with you soon”, Subaru promises, and finally lets go of Hajime’s hand.

Hajime finds a table and takes off his outerwear. Some time later, Subaru comes back, carrying two huge cups.

“Oh, those smell delicious”, Hajime smiles. “What did you get for yourself?”

“Same as you but with dark chocolate”, Subaru replies as he sits down.

“I see. Thank you so much for mine”, Hajime pulls one of the cups closer. “Mm… we’ve walked a lot today, it’s nice to sit down for a while.”

“Mmh! Are you getting tired?”

“A little bit”, Hajime admits. “A-ah, of course your company isn’t tiring-!”

“Ha ha ha! That’s something I rarely hear”, Subaru grins.

“Um, sorry”, Hajime says. “Actually, now that we’re sitting down… I have something for you. From the toy store…” Hajime finds the plushie easily from his bag. “This reminded me of you, so…”

“Really?” Subaru’s eyes shine as he begins unwrapping the gift.

“And, there’s no need to get me anything in exchange! You already bought me cocoa, so…”

“Hm?” Subaru raises his gaze. “No, of course I have something for you.”

“W-what?”

“Shinonon”, Subaru laughs, “who else would remind me of a blue rabbit?”

“A rabbit…? Oh! A rabbit!” Hajime slaps a hand over his mouth, mortified. “I-I can’t believe I didn’t realise…!”

“That means I managed to make it a surprise. Come on, you open yours, too~”

Subaru slides a smaller package over the table. And Hajime _knows_ what’s inside the wrapping paper, but that doesn’t stop him from being nervous, excited.

The rabbit is as cute as he remembers, and softer than he expected.

“Oh, it’s _adorable”,_ Hajime sighs. “Thank you so much, Akehoshi-senpai.”

“No, thank _you_ \-- ah, this is…”

“It reminded me of Daikichi”, Hajime explains. “And… of you, since the fur is almost orange…”

“Yes, I see”, Subaru nods. “It’s a great gift. Thank you, Shinonon~ I love you!”

“A-A-Akehoshi-senpai!” Hajime stutters. “You shouldn’t say things like that in public, people will get the wrong idea!”

And, Hajime’s poor heart can’t handle it.

“I want to show this to Daikichi right away. Want to come over?”

“Me? To your house?” Hajime blinks.

“Yes! I’m sure Daikichi would be happy to see you.”

“W-well…” Subaru’s house? Possibly, his room? “If you insist.”

“Great! Let’s go, then.”

Hajime downs the rest of his cocoa and gathers his things, and then, they depart from the cafe.

 

* * *

 

Daikichi greets them before they’ve even managed to close the front door behind them. Truth be told, Daikichi makes Hajime a bit nervous, but he knows he’ll be entirely safe, especially with Subaru.

Hajime leans down so Daikichi can smell his hands. Finally he seems to calm down, but he keeps hopping around while Hajime and Subaru take their shoes off.

“See? He’s excited to see you.”

“Y-yes, I suppose”, Hajime says uncertainly.

“Okay, let’s go to my room and we can play with him”, Subaru takes Hajime by the hand like it was the most natural thing in the world, and Hajime’s heart skips a beat.

Daikichi follows them into Subaru's room. Hajime hesitates, but Subaru pulls him in. Before Hajime can take a good look around, Subaru sits on the floor and beckons Daikichi closer.

“Here, Daikichi, look at this”, Subaru shows the plushie to the dog. “Shinonon gave this to me. It looks a bit like you?”

Daikichi can’t understand the words, but he barks happily, taking a step closer to sniff the toy, then slowly paws at it.

“He likes it?” Hajime asks hopefully.

“He likes shiny things more, but yeah! Daikichi, you have to be careful, it’s a precious gift.” Daikichi barks again, a small sound, and Subaru laughs. “Yep! Careful.”

Perhaps Subaru can understand him…? Hajime leans closer. He’s never met Daikichi indoors, so maybe he’ll be less rowdy now?

Daikichi turns his attention from the plushie to Hajime, and his tail begins to wag. He hops closer, front legs landing on Hajime’s knees, and his eyes are attentively fixed on Hajime’s eyes.

“W-what?” Hajime stutters, surprised. “Is there something on my face…?”

“He likes your eyes”, Subaru leans closer. “We both like sparkly things, and your eyes sparkle a lot.”

“M-m-my eyes?” Hajime feels his face heat up. _“Sparkle?”_

“Mmh! Like gemstones”, Subaru leans even closer. “When you get excited, or happy. Or sad”, he tilts his head. “Though that’s a sparkle I don’t like seeing on you.”

”There’s different kinds of sparkling?” Hajime whispers. He’s not sure if he’s following this entirely, but…

”Yep!” Subaru nods. ”For example, currently your eyes are sparkling like…” Suddenly he falls quiet, never finishing the sentence. ”O-oh.”

”What? What?” Hajime feels nervous. ”Is something weird?”

”Hmm? I was just thinking about something.” Subaru picks Daikichi up and sets him on his own lap. ”Don’t worry about it!”

It certainly seems like something’s up, but Hajime doesn’t want to pry. If Subaru wants to talk about it, then he will. Right...?

But something feels different in the atmosphere. Subaru seems lost in thought, petting Daikichi, and Hajime can't stand the thought of something being wrong between them. Was it about the way Hajime's eyes sparkled? That was the last thing Subaru spoke of... Did he see something in Hajime's eyes? Something that surprised or shocked him? Maybe Subaru realised how nervous Hajime is to be in his room...? What if he thinks Hajime doesn't want to be here...?! Hajime must correct this at once!

Hajime shoots up from where he's sitting.

"A-A-Akehoshi-senpai!" he stammers. "It's true!"

"W-what?" Subaru asks, taken aback.

"What you saw in my eyes", Hajime explains. "And I am nervous, but not uncomfortable. A-and I most definitely want to be here right now, if you'll have me...!"

"Wait, so", Subaru stands up after lifting Daikichi off his lap, "it's okay?"

"Y-yes", Hajime nods. "I'm okay."

"Because I've been thinking, I want that too."

"You do?" Hajime blinks. Wants what? Are they not on the same page after all...?

"Yeah, for a long time I wasn't sure", Subaru continues. "But my heart beats rea~lly fast when I think about it. And I thought I must be mistaken, when I saw that glimmer in your eyes, but – if you really do feel the same, then that's great!"

Subaru grins happily, but Hajime is completely lost.

"My apologies, Akehoshi-senpai", Hajime's voice feels small to himself, "but what _are_ we talking about?"

"The sparkle", Subaru frowns. "You looked like you wanted to kiss me?"

"K...k..." the thought makes Hajime's whole face flush. "K-kiss?!"

"Was I wrong?" Subaru gasps. His face is starting to change colour as well. "You don't?"

"I do!" Hajime squeaks. "I just didn't think that was what you saw...!"

"So you do", Subaru leans closer. "Can you say it? Just once?"

"I would very much like to kiss you", Hajime hides his face in his hands. "If that's something you want as well."

"So, can I?" Subaru's voice is uncharacteristically soft.

"Do what?"

"Can I kiss you now, Shinonon?"

Hajime slowly lifts his hands down. He can't imagine he looks very attractive right now, face red and sweaty, but...

"Yes", he says quietly, then again, louder. "Yes."

Subaru doesn't reply. Instead, he leans closer to Hajime than he ever has before – which is a lot, considering Subaru's unfamiliarity with the concept of personal space.

Hajime fears he might faint soon. Subaru's eyes shine in a new way as he cups Hajime's face with both hands. A gentle, soft shine, and Hajime can't help the next confession spilling from his lips.

"I really like you", he whispers.

"That's nice, because I really like you too", Subaru says.

And then he kisses Hajime.


End file.
